RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Romanov Dynasty

Dynasty elected in 1613 at end of Time of Troubles; ruled Russia until 1917

Czar (Tsar) Nicholas II

Monarch of Russia of the Romanov family at the onset of World War I

Bloody Sunday 1905

A massacre of peaceful protesters at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1905, directly triggering a revolution that overturned absolute tsarist rule and made Russia into a conservative constitutional monarchy.

Causes of the Russian Revolution

Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, landless and poor peasants, military defeats/casualties in WWI, rapid and late industrialization, food shortages, Tsar Nicholas II's resistance to reform, erosion of confidence in the monarchy.

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

War between Japan and Russia over Manchurian territory; resulted in the defeat of Russia by the Japanese navy; weakened Russia.

Russian Revolution of 1905

Followed Russia's defeat at the hands of Japan in 1905; a wave of mass political and social unrest marked by Bloody Sunday that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire; included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies; was suppressed, forcing the government to make substantial reforms, including the creation of the Duma.

Duma

Initiated as a result of the 1905 Revolution, the Duma was established by Tsar Nicholas II in his October Manifesto (October 30, 1905); promised to be an elected representative assembly whose approval would be necessary to enact legislation; seemed like the Czar was giving his people power, yet, in reality, it was at most, an advisory body to the czar; ended w/ February/March Revolution of 1917.

Tsarina Alexandra

Empress of Russia / wife of Tsar Nicholas II; not trusted by Russians due to her German ancestry; Russian decision-maker while Nicholas II was at the front during WWI; hated by many because of her collusion with Rasputin.

Rasputin

Russian peasant monk who was able to influence Russian politics by gaining the confidence of the Czarina; he was assassinated in 1916.

Petrograd

Capital city of Russia during World War I; formerly (and today) known as St. Petersburg.

March Revolution 1917

10,000 women marched through Petrograd demanding Peace and Bread; joined by other workers calling for a general strike that lasted 2 days, shutting down all factories in the city; Czar Nicholas II lost control and abdicated the throne on March 15, ending 300 years of Romanov rule.

Soviets

Russian councils composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers in support of socialist/communist ideals.

Provisional Government

A temporary government created by the Duma after the abdication of the czar, led by Alexander Kerensky. Its decision to remain in World War I cost it the support of the soviets and the people.

Vladimir Lenin

Leader of the Bolshevik (later Communist) Party. Wrote The Communist Manifesto; He lived in exile in Switzerland until 1917, then returned to Russia to lead the Bolsheviks to victory during the Russian Revolution and the ensuing civil war; he was the first head of the USSR (1917-1924).

Bolsheviks

A soviet of Revolutionary Marxists, led by Vladimir Lenin, which seized power in Russia in 1917. Eventually, they became known as the Communists.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918)

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Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

Lenin's ally and organizational/tactical genius, who led the Bolshevik military takeover of the provisional government headed by Kerensky, in November 1917.

October/November Revolution of 1917

The coup d'etat by the Bolsheviks under Lenin and Leon Trotsky that led to a period of Civil War, which ended in victory for the Bolsheviks.

"Peace, Land, and Bread"

The promise Lenin made to his supporters on his arrival in April 1917 in Russia after his exile abroad.

Ekaterinburg

A town in the Ural Mountains where Bolshevik guards moved Nicolas II and his family, who were executed there on the orders of the local soviet in July 1918.

Red Army/White Army

A three-year civil war over control of the Russian state fought between the Red Army, led by Lenin and Trotsky representing communist ideals, and the White Army, composed of Russian military leaders funded by the Allied Powers.

Cheka

The secret police under Lenin and his Communist Party served to eliminate all perceived enemies of the Communist state.

Red Terror (1918)

The campaign of mass arrests and executions conducted by the Bolshevik government.

formation of the USSR/Soviet Union (1922)

The official creation of the Soviet Union followed the Bolsheviks' consolidation of power.

Faberge Eggs

The celebrated series of 50 Imperial Easter eggs created for the Russian Imperial family from 1885 to 1916.

Firebird

A symbol often found in Russian culture, believed to bring a change of fate to anyone who touches its feathers or attempts to capture it.

Leo Tolstoy

Russian author of 'Anna Karenina' and 'War and Peace'.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky

The most popular Russian composer of all time, best known for his ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.